Musical instrument and method employing reference frequency source and controlled period multipliers therefor

ABSTRACT

A single reference frequency source is coupled to a series of controlled period multipliers (frequency dividers) for selecting a musical keynote and for producing selected output tones that vary according to extensions of the natural or diatonic scale. The output tone selectors are arranged in a two-dimensional array correlating tonal intervals with spatial relationships.



1. Signal-period multiplying apparatus for a musical instrument comprising: first circuit means including logic elements which are responsive to first logic control signals applied thereto and being adapted to receive a periodic input signal for producing a periodic output signal having a period equal to the period of the input signal multiplied by an integer which is selectable in response to said first logic control signals from a first set of at least two different integers which are greater than unity and which have no common factors; and at least second circuit means including logic elements which are responsive to second logic control signals applied thereto and being adapted to receive the periodic output signal from said first circuit means for producing a periodic resultant signal having a period equal to the period of said periodic output signal multiplied by an integer which is selectable in response to said second logic control signals from a second set of at least two different integers that are greater than unity and which are different from said first set and which have no common factors.
 2. Signal-period multiplying apparatus as in claim 1 wherein: one of the first and second sets of integers includes as said one integer the integer nine and the other of said first and second sets of integers includes as said one integer the integer five; and another integer in each of said first and second sets is different from the respective said one integers by the value one.
 3. Signal-period multiplying apparatus as in claim 1 for producing a plurality of periodic resultant signals of different periods according to a musical scale comprising: controlled signalling means for applying said first and second logic control signals to the logic elements in said first and second circuit means for multiplying the period of a periodic input signal applied to the first circuit means by a plurality of factors in accordance with a progression of a musical scale.
 4. Signal-period multiplying apparatus as in claim 1 which produces discrete signal frequencies according to a musical scale, the apparatus comprising: signal means responsive to logic control signals applied thereto and coupled to the successively connected first and second circuit means for producing therewith discrete signal frequencies in response to combinations of logic control signals applied to said first and second circuit means and said signal means including the progression from a first tone of: a second tone having a frequency equal to 9/8 the frequency of the first tone; a third tone having a frequency equal to 10/9 the frequency of the second tone; a fourth tone having a frequency equal to 16/15 the frequency of the third tone; a fifth tone having a frequency equal to 135/128 the frequency of the fourth tone; a sixth tone having a frequency equal to 16/15 the frequency of the fifth tone; a seventh tone having a frequency equal to 10/9 the frequency of the sixth tone; an eighth tone having a frequency equal to 9/8 the frequency of the seventh tone; and a ninth tone having a frequency equal to 16/15 the frequency of the eighth tone.
 5. Apparatus in a musical instrument for producing discrete tones in accordance with a musical scale comprising: reference period signal-generating means providing a sequence of regularly recurring events having a reference period; and tone generating means coupled to said reference period signal-generating means for selectively altering said reference period to produce a set of output tones including: a first tone having a first period representative of the reference period; a second tone having a period 9/10 times the first period; a third tone having a period 8/9 times the first period; a fourth tone having a period 4/5 times the first period; a fifth tone having a period 3/4 times the first period; a sixth tone having a period 2/3 times the first period; a seventh tone having a period 3/5 times the first period; and an eighth tone having a period 8/15 times the first period.
 6. Apparatus in a musical instrument for producing discrete tones in accordance with a musical scale comprising: reference period signal generating means providing a sequence of regularly recurring events having a reference period; and tone-generating means coupled to said reference period signal-generating means for selectively altering said reference period to produce a set of output tones including: a first tone having a first period representative of the reference period; a second tone having a period 8/9 times the first period; a third tone having a period 4/5 times the first period; a fourth tone having a period 3/4 times the first period; a fifth tone having a period 32/45 times the first period; a sixth tone having a period 2/3 times the first period; a seventh tone having a period 3/5 times the first period; and an eighth tone having a period 8/15 times the first period.
 7. Apparatus as in claim 6 for producing discrete tones in accordance with a musical scale wherein: said tone generating means produces a set of output tones including: a first intermediate tone having a period 15/16 times said first period; a second intermediate tone having a period 5/6 times said first period; a sixth intermediate tone having a period 5/8 times said first period; and a seventh intermediate tone having a period 5/9 times said first period.
 8. Apparatus in accordance with claim 6 providing a selectable keynote comprising: keynote selection means coupled to said reference period signal-generating means for multiplying said reference period by a factor selectable from the set of multipliers of said first period.
 9. Apparatus for a musical instrument comprising: a source of periodic reference signal; signal-period multiplying means coupled to said source for receiving said periodic reference signal and generating a set of at least seven periodic tonal signals per octave over a range exceeding one octave, said periodic tonal signals having periods equal to the period of the reference signal multiplied by selectable ones of a set of integers corresponding to the relative periods of the tones of a musical scale, said integers being selectable in response to control signals applied thereto for designating the tonal signals selected from said set of periodic tonal signals; and control signal-generating means including a corresponding set of selector means for each discrete tone, said selector means being disposed in a spatial array which extends by rows in one direction and by columns in another direction in skew relationship to said one direction to provide all equal tonal intervals with corresponding equal selector vectors.
 10. a musical instrument comprising: a source of periodic reference signal; controllable period-multiplying means having an input and an output and being responsive to control signals for producing at the output thereof from a periodic signal applied to the input thereof a plurality of tonal signals which vary over an octave range in tonal intervals according to a musical scale; and a plurality of binary period multipliers, each having input and output and each being responsive to a control signal applied thereto for selectively translating a periodic signal applied to the input thereof by an octave; means coupling said controllable period-multiplying means and said plurality of binary period multipliers in selected order in cascade arrangement To receive the periodic reference signal from said source at the input of the cascade arrangement; and output means coupled to said cascade arrangement for acoustically radiating the translated tonal signals at the output of the cascade arrangement.
 11. Apparatus as in claim 10 comprising: musical key-transposing means responsive to key determination signals applied thereto for multiplying the period of a periodic signal received thereby by selected factors corresponding to said tonal intervals in response to key determination signals applied thereto; and means coupling said key-transposing means in selected order within the cascade arrangement of said controllable period multipliers and said binary period multipliers between said source and said output means.
 12. Apparatus as in claim 10 comprising: musical key-transposing means coupled to said source of periodic reference signal and responsive to key determination signals applied thereto for selectively altering the period of said periodic reference signal to provide said tonal intervals.
 13. The method of playing music according to a musical scale comprising the steps, performed in selected order, of: producing a first tone having a keynote reference frequency; producing a first intermediate tone having a frequency equal to 16/15 times the reference frequency; producing a second tone having a frequency equal to 9/8 times the reference frequency; producing a second intermediate tone having a frequency equal to 6/5 times the reference frequency; producing a third tone having a frequency equal to 5/4 times the reference frequency; producing a fourth tone having a frequency equal to 4/3 times the reference frequency; producing a fourth intermediate tone having a frequency equal to 45/32 times the reference frequency; producing a fifth tone having a frequency equal to 3/2 times the reference frequency; producing a fifth intermediate tone having a frequency equal to 8/5 times the reference frequency; producing a sixth tone having a frequency equal to 5/3 times the reference frequency; producing a sixth intermediate tone having a frequency equal to 9/5 times the reference frequency; and producing a seventh tone having a frequency equal to 15/8 times the reference frequency. 